ARC Raiders PvE Mode Guide

ARC Raiders PvE Mode Quick Summary:

• The PvE matchmaking beta runs from October 13 to October 20, 2026.
• Players deal zero damage to each other, but ARC enemies work normally.
• PvE has reduced loot value compared to regular PvPvE raids.
• Solos, Duos, and Trios share the same PvE matchmaking pool.
• Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker, Frigate, and Redirection are unavailable in PvE.

A new season is here, and with character reset, all your blueprints are gone. You know what that means. It's time to get your favorite ARC Raiders Blueprints back.

 

 

 

ARC Raiders PvE Mode Explained

ARC Raiders PvE is a new beta matchmaking option that removes hostile player-versus-player combat from Topside altogether. Instead of worrying whether the random Raider screaming “don’t shoot” at the top of their lungs is actually friendly or will put a shotgun shell through your chest at the extraction, everybody in the lobby is stripped of conniving tactics. It’s not a new way to experience ARC Raiders as much as it is just a less stressful mode for those who just want to loot and shoot. If you ever wanted to kill Queen or Matriarch but were worried about losing the high-value loot, this week, from October 13 to October 20, 2026, is the best time for it. For now, devs are testing whether the existing extraction game works when the PvP threat is removed. Here are the biggest differences between PvE and normal ARC Raiders:

Feature	PvE	PvPvE
Player Damage	Disabled	Enabled
ARC Enemies	Enabled	Enabled
Loot Value	Reduced	Normal/slightly increased during test
Solo/Duo/Trio Separation	Not prioritized	Tries to separate squad sizes
Quests	Available	Available
PvPvE Matchmaking Rating	Not affected	Normal rating applies
Frigate	Unavailable	Available
Night Raid	Unavailable	Available
Hidden Bunker	Unavailable	Available
Locked Gate	Unavailable	Available
Redirection	Unavailable	Available

As you can see, most map conditions that reward you with high-end loot are unavailable in this mode, as PvE is more about looting for resources or doing quests stress-free. This also includes the latest Pendola Pass condition, the Frigate. Perhaps it’s also the developers’ attempt to redesign the matchmaking, as ARC Raiders currently tries to put less aggressive players with people who behave similarly, guilt-tripping you for shooting a friendly player if you didn’t have any encounters with other players in the last couple of raids. Even then, this kind of matchmaking doesn’t grant you protection from being shot at. The PvE toggle is the first time the game actually guarantees that another Raider cannot simply decide to kill you.

How to Play ARC Raiders PvE Mode

The PvE is part of the game’s standard matchmaking, not a separate character or server. When you want to play a chill match, select the PvE matchmaking toggle instead of the normal PvPvE queue, then pick the map you want to raid. Do not be worried, you can freely go back to standard matchmaking on your next run. You aren’t locking your character into playing co-op forever. This is how to play ARC Raiders PvE mode:

1. Open the map select screen
2. Enable PvE matchmaking
3. Pick an available map or Map Condition
4. Enter the raid
5. Switch the toggle back off whenever you want to return to PvPvE

Your PvPvE matchmaking rating isn’t affected by what you do in PvE. Since this is only beta, the developers want to collect data on both queues separately. After this week is done, you’ll return to normal lobbies again.

How PvP Works in ARC Raiders PvE

One of the developers mentioned that they know players and their shenanigans, and simply turning off player damage wouldn’t do the trick. There are more ways to troll people even in completely friendly lobbies. Zero Raider-to-Raider damage comes as given, but Embark has also disabled some of the less obvious ways people would inevitably find to murder each other anyway, and even then I don’t think they accounted for everything. Stun and fire throwables don’t work against other Raiders in PvE sessions, preventing you from bypassing the friendly-fire restriction with utility items. Other physical interaction equipment, including Barricades and Ziplines, continues to function normally. Here are the changes to damage and gadgets in PvE:

• Guns cannot damage other Raiders
• Melee cannot damage other Raiders
• Stun throwables do not affect other Raiders
• Fire throwables do not affect other Raiders
• Barricades still work
• Ziplines still work

Note that other Raiders remain present in the session. PvE does not mean private raids, as this would be a bit of an overkill in an extraction shooter. I mean, ARC is already quite casual, but this would push the game into baby territory. You’ll still meet strangers Topside and interact with them, and hopefully this will create even more exciting community moments, though the fact that you can’t damage randoms diminishes the impressiveness of the whole lobby gathering to play instruments around the campfire. Developers, however, didn’t take away the ability to push other Raiders from heights, so you know… You still can play some really dirty tricks.

ARC Raiders PvE Loot Explained

PvE has a significantly lower loot value than standard matchmaking. This change was made because players who regularly avoid PvP already extract more often and bring more loot back to Speranza, and removing hostile Raiders increases that survival rate even further, completely breaking the economy. During the test, PvPvE sessions also get slightly higher baseline loot values so the game studio can monitor how both sides of the economy react. This creates a quite significant tradeoff:

• PvE: Lower risk, lower loot value, easier to complete quests
• PvPvE: Higher risk, better overall loot economy, harder to complete quests

I wonder if this also concerns new furniture designs for the Outpost, as they don’t give any advantage as far as I’m concerned. For getting specific quest items or learning an unfamiliar map, I can absolutely see PvE being useful. Other than that, I kinda fail to see any reason for this mode, unless you just want chill looting sessions, which for some people who don’t really like the extraction genre’s stress is a saving grace. If your goal is making as much money or being a loot goblin, the reduced loot value kills this mode for you.

 

 

ARC Raiders PvE Matchmaking

PvE matchmaking doesn’t prioritize keeping Solos, Duos, and Trios apart. All three group sizes can enter the same session, so a solo Raider should expect to run into full squads pretty regularly. I really like this change to the matchmaking, as you can find new friends and party members this way. They now need to add clans or something of sorts. Let’s be realistic, though. Embark is doing this not only as a way to create a stronger community, but partly to reduce queue times. If, at the beginning of 2026, you’d get in the raid almost instantly, with changes that you’re less likely to get into an already started raid if you have a paid loadout and the player numbers dropping, I usually search for the match around 3-4 minutes. I want to note that this is in no small part because I’m playing with crossplay off and on one server for better ping, so this significantly reduces the player base. Splitting the community into PvPvE and PvE already creates two matchmaking pools, and separating each one further by every squad size could make finding sessions noticeably slower, to the point where someone like me would search for games for half an hour. So anyway, here’s how matchmaking works for ARC Raiders PvE:

Matchmaking Rule	PvE Beta
Solos	One PvE player pool
Duos	One PvE player pool
Trios	One PvE player pool
PvPvE MMR	No changes

With changes to their anti-cheat system, I’ll turn on crossplay again. Yes, I’m a console shooter player, you can roll your eyes now. Thankfully, developers don’t pretend that everything works as intended and have already warned that queue times may increase in quieter regions during the test. They’re monitoring both PvE and standard matchmaking to see whether splitting the player base causes any noticeable problems.

How ARC Enemies Work in PvE Mode

ARCs themselves haven’t been redesigned around PvE. The game studio specifically says this test isn’t about making PvE harder or creating a separate PvE progression. The point is simply to test ARC Raiders without hostile player encounters. There is, however, one important change when you get downed, which is meant to keep at least some pressure on players now that nobody can knock you out. When ARC downs you:

• You get an 8-second grace period where ARC won’t target you again
• After those 8 seconds, ARC can target you if you start moving
• If you remain still while downed, ARC should ignore you

It’s a nerf to Looting Mk. 3 (Survivor), cause if you could use it free of consequences in PvE, it would be absolutely broken and eliminate any sense of risk, which is crucial for the genre. 

 

 

Map Conditions Unavailable in ARC Raiders PvE

As I mentioned, not every ARC Raiders activity is supported in PvE matchmaking. Some major Map Conditions were intentionally removed because they were specifically designed around the tension created by multiple potentially hostile squads. The list was expanded shortly before the beta started. The following content cannot be played in ARC Raiders PvE during the test:

• Night Raid
• Locked Gate
• Hidden Bunker
• ARC Frigate
• Redirection

Frigate is probably the most noticeable exclusion after Frozen Trail because it’s one of the update’s main endgame activities. It makes sense, though, since half of the tension aboard the Frigate comes from several squads working together through the same enclosed ship without knowing whether they’ll cooperate or start killing each other in the end. As for normal maps and other conditions, they remain available, and you can still complete quests and scavenge normally in PvE.

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